Min wage should be lower up north to make it higher down south.

[Witchofwisteria]

Hear me out. Minimum wage should be given out on more of a regional basis. I think this would help spread the wealth and prevent poverty in such crushingly expensive places like London?

Example: If you live in Hull minimum wage should be £7ph but if you live in London it should be £15ph. Purely because you can rent a lush 3 bed house in Hull for £400-£600 pcm but in London (rougher areas and outskirts) it would be £1800+ at least.

Seems daft to keep increasing minimum wage nationwide when some areas can clearly get more for their money and therefore require less money to live a reasonable life and some require more! (London needs fast food staff, retail workers and cleaners too!) I think something similar with benefits should also happen but I don't know enough about the ins and outs of universal credit to think about the adjustments required.

Thoughts?

The proportion of low-paid employee jobs in London is half of that of the rest of the UK

www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/lowandhighpayuk/2018

Meanwhile Although the proportion of high-paid employee jobs has remained stable, hourly pay among the highest-earning 10% of employee jobs has increased more than average. - but lets try to take money off the other POOR people not address the fact that those who are already at the top are getting bigger rises still.

www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/lowandhighpayuk/2018

And at the same time Number of jobs paid below the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage increases in 2018
In April 2018, there were 441,000 employees aged 16 years and over who were paid below the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage (1.6% of employee jobs). This is compared with 419,000 (1.5% of employee jobs) in 2017. In April 2018, the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates were increased by approximately 4.4%.

So the gap between rich and poor and north and south is widening. Lets make that worse shall we?
Or how about companies stop paying sky-high salaries to all their buddies at the top, enabled by their equally over-paid political chummies, and use the money they save to increase the minimum wage for everyone. And actually make sure they pay it.

Er, no.

My brother works for minimum wage and cannot afford to live. He has autism but gets no financial support because he isn't sharing a room(he can't cope with others in the house never mind sharing a room). If you lowered his wage he would be homeless or dependant on my aging parents for financial support. OP think about what you are writing before you post- this post is obviously going to wind people up! 🙄

I’m not saying I agree with the OP. However I’m wary of people talking total bollocks.

Yes, the proportion of workers in London on minimum wage is about half elsewhere. That London has a lot of high paid workers and a large workforce is undisputed.

Each one of those workers is still a person, and there are twice as many of them than in some other parts of the country. The myth that all workers get paid more in London is worth resisting, because it’s bollocks. And those workers on minimum wage will have relatively lower buying power than in other places.

I think it is undisputed that many people suffer in London due to poverty and an unliveable minimum wage. It is true and deeply unfair that many of these people would probably benefit from not living in London - staying is a choice.

Now, before I get flamed, as I said that is very unfair. To not be able to live where you grew up etc. However, it happens everywhere. I can’t live in the northern area I grew up in because my parents were exceptionally fortunate when they bought their massive cheap house back in the 70s - it now would cost me over £600k. Graduates are forced to move all over the place to find work these days.
If you have to move because you can’t afford to live it is unfair but taking money from people in the north to fund a persons desire (and it is a desire whether they were born there or not) to stay in London is even more unfair.

Talking about moving as a simple solution is a bit disingenuous, isn’t it? Fine if you’re just starting out, have parental backing, and/or are going into a shared place that doesn’t need a massive deposit. And if you’re a graduate with prospects...

Harder if you’ve got kids, for example, and are living paycheque to paycheque with not enough to save for a train ticket to look for a house/work let alone a deposit, and your parents provide your childcare.

The ‘just move’ trope is so tired.

Of course not everyone can move easily - no one answer will fit all situations but of course some can. It’s a view that is often discounted on the grounds that people should have to move - when obviously many other people in fact do have to move all across the country.

The OP asked about whether the northern minimum wage should be cut to support higher wages in the north. Many comments have supported the fact that the north isn’t as cheap as people in the south think (in many areas), suffers from lack of government funding, and people already struggle on the minimum wage.

People are struggling in the north and the south with some slightly different issues - neither can be solved by buying into the notion that the north can survive on even less.

*shouldnt have to move

Are you trolling?

People are struggling in the north and the south with some slightly different issues - neither can be solved by buying into the notion that the north can survive on even less.

I don’t disagree with that. As I’ve said, I don’t agree with the OP’s solution. But some of the myths and bollocks arguments about life in the south/London need calling out for what they are.

Trolling?! I thought we were all just chatting?

I’m bowing out of this conversation - that trolling comment really upset me. I’m way too sensitive today as I’m going in for a breast biopsy later so I just can’t take it as I normally might.

For the record I really like London - I used to commute down for work a couple of days a week and have many friends who either live there, or moved out because they couldn’t afford it anymore.

It’s all a big problem, where normal people are the ones who suffer. However, as a northerner I also see the lack of government funding and investment in the north - so any suggestion that the north should somehow do with less in anyway is upsetting and worthy of debate.

clyd I don't understand that trolling comment either. You seem to me just putting your pov across, which is what the site is about.

Hope your biopsy goes OK and that the results are good.

Good luck clyd

Thank you both - just been for the biopsy and your message alerts popped up.

I was probably just being over sensitive to the trolling comment but it’s obviously an emotive statement these days, especially when you’re really not doing it!

I appreciate your kind thoughts xx

You are allowed to feel sensitive today and in any event the trolling comment was really out of order. Try to get some rest now clyd.

But minimum wage is funded by businesses. It’s not a pot given out be government. It’s up to them to provide a living wage for the area. But of course that would mean much increase prices.

However if government set different min wages for different area

Posted too soon

Different areas then it might encourage more businesses to move away from London

Until recently many places up north were cheaper, however this is no longer the case ....Manchester, Liverpool, Lincoln are all increasing in price you would be constantly chopping and changing. Many jobs in London have an additional allowance to help combated higher costs eg in education and nhs.

And we could give less health money to the south to account for the poorer quality of health in the north.

So bloody glad I’m northern away from all this drama

it might encourage more businesses to move away from London

We can only hope - we desperately need the re-balance the UK away from London/SE dominance.

Clyd, for the record you and I were disagreeing a bit but in good spirit and the trolling comment was weird and out of line.

I hope today went ok. 💐